Empathy: Process of adaptation and change, is it trainable?

of ayurvedic theory. It is interesting to note that even in the past enough emphasis was placed on desirable qualities of medical student. Selection and training had incorporated certain attributes for selecting medical students. Sushruta Samhita gives lucid account of desirable internal characteristics of medical student. Among the most desirable attributes, i.e., humility, honesty, and hardworking generosity and empathy were also adequately emphasized. Empathy is defined as " the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions " or " the BLOCKINability BLOCKINto BLOCKINshare BLOCKINsomeone BLOCKINelse's BLOCKINfeelings. " [8] Sympathy is defined as " the feeling that you care about and are sorry about someone else's trouble, grief, misfortune, etc., " BLOCKIN " a BLOCKINfeeling BLOCKINof support BLOCKINfor BLOCKINsomething, " BLOCKIN or BLOCKIN " a BLOCKINstate BLOCKINin which different people share the same interests, opinions, goals, etc., " but not necessarily the feeling that you share another person's emotions. This makes it more of a feeling experienced because of proximity to the individuals and groups they interact with and perception of the person as deserving help and sympathy. Empathy is not similar to sympathy. Empathy is an advanced, effortful, intellectual, and trainable attribute that involves cognition more than emotions and contributes for professional satisfaction and career development, whereas sympathy is a primitive and effortless reaction that mainly involves affective domain leading to anxiety and subsequent vicarious trauma. Research evidence regarding emergence of empathetic reactions indicates that empathy is not an automated response; it is heavily modulated by interpersonal and contextual factors, which impact behavior and cognitions. Empathy has biological underpinnings of circuits connecting the brainstem, amygdala, basal ganglia, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex. The role of physiological parameters is also undeniably accepted. Neuropeptides, oxytocin, and vasopressin are implicated in the regulation of social behaviors and empathy. Emotional attunement helps physicians appreciate the personal meanings of patients' words. There is a realignment of thought process to feeling tone. There is " B eing empathic is a complex, demanding, strong yet subtle and gentle way of being. "-Carl Rogers Empathy has been talked about as one of the essential attributes of health professionals. In fact, lot of weightage has been given to this facet in health sector, management field, and education sector. Some of the scientific citations date back to early development in the field having philosophical underpinnings. German esthetic philosophers Vischer and Lipps have worked immensely …